Just got rear-ended

what would you do
if this was you...









I wonder how to find a good body shop that would provide an accurate estimate and damage assessment,
and if they would even remove the bumper to see if any other parts are damaged

because supposedly body shops suck. At least that's what my friends who worked in them say. Not to mention the numerous cars I've seen "repaired" by body shops, with the workmanship of a 2nd grader

 

Sorry to hear it man.


I’d first crawl around under it to assess the damage myself.
That way, I’d have a good basis to go off when the Bodyshop called to tell me their findings.
If they found the same or more damage, Good.
If they found less, Not so good.

Personally I’d want to be sure the Frame and Towing Receiver are Good.
As those are really important to me.

 

judging by where it looks like the brunt of the impact was your probably just going to need a bumper. but pulling the bumper to check the frame is a must.

 

First things first, even though appearances say it was a mild collision, are you okay?

Next did the other driver have insurance? If you have a good insurance company yourself I would suggest contacting them and ask what steps you should take. Your own insurance company may suggest opening a claim with them, I would hold off as you should be filing a claim with the other drivers insurance.

Absolutely DO NOT go through the process of signing into those easy picture app claim requests and absolutely DO NOT accept any quick cash offers. Request that an adjuster be sent out to inspect the vehicle on top of investigating yourself.

Of course all of that only matters if the other driver had insurance and you collected that info from them.

 

yeah, not sure if I should pull the bumper myself (probably pretty easy) or hope a body should would even go that far, versus their usual theme of just snapping some pictures, writing up a cheap quote, and then sending that to insurance.
Hopefully nobody gets mad if I remove the bumper myself (such as the insurance company or body shop)
but then again, if I screw it back into place (re-install with bolts) after done inspecting myself, they might never know.
Either way, the bumper will probably need replacing.

Am just not sure currently if there's further damage beyond/worse than that, such as a bent frame (expensive and potentially totals the truck)
I hear one way to check that is to have a body shop put the truck on a frame alignment jig to measure it, a service that normally (if paying out of pocket) I think is like $100-300.

It seems to feel a bit weirder now driving straight (the truck itself, and the steering wheel); maybe it wouldn't even look straight on a basic laser alignment rack...

Hm. Called my insurance up pretty quickly because they're said to be a good company, in the hopes that if I arrive first with the info on what happened, that it looks good in my favor. Not that it matters, because no matter who reports on the story first, the other party caused a rear-ending, which means they're at fault.
The way I understand it, their insurance's goal is to minimize cost, so they would not want to pay me normal money.
Whereas my insurance company's goal might to be to pay a normal market value amount, and then send the bill to their insurance company, due to their insured party being the one who fucked up/is responsible. Hence why they pay their premium.

Plus, the at-fault party failed to provide details of their insurance. Not sure if they even have any. Got all the other personal info I could though.

I've heard of those easy picture app things. They always try to give you some lowball quick cash offer as you said, before anyone even looks at the damage.

I mean, they should have insurance. Because their registration is up to date and they have a driver's license. Plus, insurance is cheap.
So hopefully they have it. If not, I'm not sure how the local laws work. If they're at fault, broke a law, and can be sued, if not having insurance, etc.
or where the money comes from; if it's my insurance, a state tax of some sort, etc. depending on the area and local laws.

After taking a pic of them, their car, their plate, their driver's license, etc. I feel like if they just ran away, had no insurance, and don't pay, then it's a crime...

Aftermarket steel bumpers look cool (if the truck is even undamaged enough to install one), but I hear their added strength results in less crumple zone that actually makes the truck more dangerous on-road in the event of another inevitable crash;
I've always been told to expect being crashed into at least once a year in this country

 

Typically body shops will put it on the frame rack and check. You can peak under the truck and see if you have any kinks in the frame. About how fast was the guy who hit you going?

 

Honestly it seemed like we were both stopped at a red light with them a car-length behind me when for whatever reason, they decided to hit the gas

 

Your probably bumper only
Them

 

Funny enough I almost made those exact comments about how it drives me up the wall how I am required to have insurance but as soon as there is an accident and the other driver doesn’t have insurance, the cops just shrug and say “tough luck.”

Without the other drivers insurance you will end up paying out of pocket. You could always file a claim with your own insurance, pay the deductible, and they will take care of the rest. However you need to constantly ask them if doing so will increase your rates. Some less reputable companies pull that garbage.

I do agree with the others comments though. I don’t think there is much if any frame damage but of course a frame alignment rack will answer that. I can tell you from experience that the hitch (of which the bumper is attached to) is stronger than the frame and the frame will buckle first:

(Crumple zones and all that)

I’d be willing to bet it was mostly cosmetic damage to the paper thin steel that is the rear bumper.

 

It's just the bumper. If the frame had any damage it would be obvious when looking at the gap on the side of the truck between the bumper and the body and that trucks gaps are perfect.

The bumper is easily replaced.

 

Your truck is most certainly not totaled. I highly doubt you have any frame damage. Most reputable collision shops can do a very accurate estimate of your damage without pulling the bumper off. From what I can see, all you need is a new bumper. Don't over-think this one.

 

I dont know what state you are in but most states have the same laws. Unless i missed something it sounds like you handled the crash on scene without police reports. If you did that then you limited what you can do now. If the at fault driver doesnt have insurance, you already let him off the hook. A police report cant be made later, at least in most states. Your insurance company will have to pay full bill minus your deductible or you will be paying full price. If he didnt show you insurance at the time of the crash then its a good chance he didnt have it or didnt want you to call them and make a claim. Thankfully it looks like its just the bumper. Also a rear bumper change to plate steel does not affect the crumple zone. These weak ass frames will fold no matter what bumper you have on the back. Oh one more thing. I dont know where you heard that you can expect to get hit once a year but thats the biggest load of shit ever. Let your insurance company do their thing and take it from there. Hopefully it works out ok for you.

 

A plate bumper is much more likely to get the frame bent in an accident than the stock bumper, that's why the stock bumper is so weak in the first place. This trucks frame didn't bend which directly contradicts your statement that "these weak ass frames will fold no matter what bumper you have on the back...". There is no possible way this trucks frame is bent.

 

FYI

I was rear ended about 3 weeks ago sitting at a red light. Guy hit me at about 10-15 mph. I have the OEM towing package (2006 PreRunner) with an extender and ball in place. No damage to the truck. Guy's Minivan had a big round hole in his bumper.

 

I would buff that shit out and go about my day.

When you get the check from the insurance if your going to replace the bumper might as well go with an offroad/ steel bumper. It might even be cheaper.

another thing to remember is if you go through your insurance instead of the at fault party’s insurance. You will have a claim on your insurance sometimes that will make it go up in price sometimes not

 

High school girl texting in stop go traffic did the exact same thing to me last summer. Took it to the body shop at the Toyota dealer.

Her insurance cut me a check for $1200 which was for a new bumper, re-coating my trailer hitch, and labor. I left the dent (OR chrome bumper so less noticeable) and ordered a CBI front bumper with it.

Edit: Also there is a lot of bent frame hype on tacomaworld. I was worried about mine too as a result. Body shop checked and said it was totally fine. I wouldn’t worry too much if it was low speed.

 

This has been pretty well covered but I'll add my 2 cents anyway. That appears to be very minor damage with no chance of frame damage. You just need a new bumper but you (& the body shop) should see if there's any damage to bumper mounting brackets. Not a big deal. If the other driver has insurance they will pay for it. If you get stuck with the repair, you can easily unbolt the old and bolt on the new.

 

PLATE BUMPER WINNER!

 

As one who gets plowed into (by stupid/incompetent/careless) drivers every 6 months to 2 years, I can say from a great deal of personal experience:

#1 Always call the cops and get a report- always. Let the fuz determine if the fuck did/didn't have insurance and hopefully slap them with another ticket if they don't or determine if any other charges need to be added.
#2 Call your ins. co., get them involved and ask what shops are on their preferred list. People say never call your ins. co. for xx number of reasons, but I've never had an issue with this. Every year with Metlife, I get my $50 safe-driver cookie back from them- going on ~10 years now.
#3 Call a Toyota dealer or two (possibly other mfr dealers as well) and see who they recommend for repairs. Ask friends/family if they've had any experience with local shops.
#4 Scrutinize/check reviews of those shops. Most have completed customer cars sitting out front waiting for pick up. Ask to see if you can look their freshly completed work over. Opening doors/popping hoods may not be allowed, but you can see a great deal of work from the outside. If it looks like a retarded monkey put everything together- walk away.
#5 Document everything concerning the wreck on a calendar- date, time, who you spoke to, what time you missed from work (if any), medical related (if any), etc...
#6 If the other driver had ins. (my guess is no), don't accept anything from them until your truck is back to the condition you want.
#7 Have to run to work so- don't forget (if needed) rental vehicle, diminished value, etc..
#7 Good luck with everything an glad to hear you are OK.

 

Fortunately, the impact missed the tow hitch, which would've involved the frame. I know that when my rear bumper was hit a few years ago, the dealership quoted a colormatched rear OEM bumper at $1200. As of the result, I took the offer of the driver for $700 cash. Luckily, what he didn't know that when I tried to call his insurance, I was told it just lapsed. Ended up with a body armor rear bumper and the rest on a new leaf pack.